What is Atithi Devo Bhavah?
A pioneer initiative by Ministry of Tourism, Government of India that will help tap into the full potential of tourism in India. Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has introduced Atithi Devo Bhavah Program- A nation wide campaign that aims at sensitising key stakeholders towards tourists, through a process of training and orientation. The endeavour is to boost tourism in India, which in turn would act as a catalyst for India's economic growth. To launch a national level initiative that works at many levels to address all the above issues.
Atithi Devo Bhava aims at creating awareness about the effects of tourism and sensitizing people about preservation of our rich heritage & culture, cleanliness and warm hospitality. It also re-instills a sense of responsibility towards tourists and re-enforces the confidence of foreign tourist towards India as a preferred holiday destination.
The entire concept is designed to complement the Campaign. Why Atithi Devo Bhavah?
Last year we had 3.3 million visitors, but when you consider that Singapore gets 7 million a year. Thailand 9.6 million a year. Malaysia 11.5 million.
There is no reason why we can't aim to increase our numbers by 100%. And that too would be just a beginning. However to do this we need to change our attitude towards those who visit us. Often tourists are Mistreated, Cheated and rudely dealt with.
It's simple logic, if someone in a house is rude to you, as a guest, you don't encourage your friends and relations to go there.
This is perhaps the reason why in spite of an incredible wealth of Tourist spots, Cultural Attractions, Natural Wonders and Destinations for the soul, India still isn't amongst the top 15 tourist destinations Of the world. The time has definitely come to get together to change this.
To change our attitude.
We have lost touch with the hospitality we were famous for. Now it is a time that we make an effort to make it a part of us again.
Respect has always been an integral part of the Indian soul. From time immemorial we have always respected - Our teachers, our elders, our parents And our guests
Perhaps this is why a great Indian Emperor once observed
'In Hindustan our manner is very respectful and our hearts are always open'
In many ways, at that time India was the ultimate destination for the enlightened travelers. Now, thousands of years later, we can bring that golden age back again.
This inspired us to go back to those years, when Indian hospitality set the standard for the world
And we found the keystone of what we want to do
Or guest is blessed.
Our visitor is God.
That how we arrive at our mission called
'Atithi Devo Bhavah' The seven point Atithi Devo Bhavah Program
Atithi Devo Bhavah is a 7 point program of hospitality and training
Samvedan Sheelta or Sesitisation-
Here we will sensitise the various sections of the tourism industry about how each of them to contribute for the growth of the tourism industry and how they will benefit from it.
Prashikshan or Training and Induction -
This involves explaining to them the needs and expectation of the tourist, how they should respond and behave in order to satisfy them needs and meet those expectations.
Prerna or Motivation -
This is motivation to participate in this program through various measures e.g. awards for the best worker in the segment. Because when you are enthused you can do wonders.
Pramani Karan or Certification -
Certification to ensure standards shall be done at an appropriate stage in the training program
Pratipushti or Feedback -
Feedback shall be obtained from tourists about the Service they have received and the experience they had, in order to improve the training program on a continuous basis
Samanya Bodh or General Awareness -
The mass media communication campaign will be undertaken to create general awareness among the public about the necessity and the benefits of the Atithi Devo Bhavah programme.
Swamitwa or Ownership-
The Atithi Devo Bhavah programme is a movement we will urge all segments of the Indian society to adopt, and look upon as their own. The Charter of Atithi Devo Bhavah Training Program
Hygiene & Cleanliness :
Hygiene & Cleanliness shall cover the areas of product for e.g. vehicles like taxies, hotel rooms, restaurants, shops, etc., personal hygiene & cleanliness of the person providing the service and cleanliness of the monuments / places of tourist interest.
Conduct and Behavior:
The person concerned for e.g. the taxi driver / hotel employee shall behave in courteous and polite manner towards tourists.
Integrity and Honesty :
The person providing service to the foreign tourists should display honesty and integrity.
Safety and Security:
The safety and security of the tourists shall be ensured. Components of the Atithi Devo Bhavah Program
Training
In this we are going to train key stakeholders (of the tourism industry) in terms of changing their attitude and behaviour towards foreign tourists. The programme shall cover 4 areas:
Hygiene - This include personal hygiene of the person and also that of the product / service.
Conduct and behaviour - Politeness and basic courtesies in interacting with the foreign tourists.
Integrity - This implies that the person does not cheat the tourists and charges him a fair price for the service.
Safety and security - Person look after safety and security of the foreign tourists.
Key stakeholders being covered in the training include taxi drivers, baggage handlers at airport, tourist guides, hotel staff, employees of tour operators, immigration and customs officials etc..
Since these segments have diverse backgrounds, education and levels of sophistication, the training is divided into 2 categories:
Level 1 : Covers taxi drives, tourist guides and baggage handlers and porters.
Level 2 : The tour operators, shop owners / staff, hotel staff, immigration and customs officials.
This training program is initiated at the following places - Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Agra, Aurangabad, and Goa. In the next financial year this programme will be rolled out to other important cities in India.
These people will be given certificates which shall be valid for about 6 months after which they have to come and get themselves re-trained. Till 31st March 2005, we plan to train about 26,000 people. From April 2005 to March 2006 these 26,000 people will be retrained and another substantially large number of people will be trained. Once a threshold level in terms of number of people trained is achieved (likely by October 2005), we shall introduce Atithi Devo Bhavah as a symbol of quality. Foreign tourists will be told to look out for the Atithi Devo Bhavah badge / sticker which will mean that the service is of certain minimum quality.
PR Road Shows
Besides training we are also undertaking PR Road shows with the tourism trade in order to get their active participation and ownership of the Atithi Devo Bhavah programme. Right now the contact programmes are being conducted in 7 cities mentioned earlier. After April 2005 contact programmes will be conducted in other cities in conjugation with the roll out of the training programme.
Mass Media Communication
We shall also be carrying out mass media communication in newspapers, TV, cinema and outdoors to create general awareness about the Atithi Devo Bhavah programme and to communicate to key stakeholders as to how it is in their own interest that foreign tourists be treated well and should go back happily from our country. Role of the India Tourism Offices
The India Tourism offices of Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Mumbai, Aurangabad, Goa and Hydrabad have a crucial role to play in the campaign. They act as nodal agencies to facilitate and coordinate the essential part of the program ie. Training. The nodal offices as we term it will have the following roles:
a) Provide their cooperation and support to make the training programs run in an effective manner
b) Registering the stakeholders who are contacting them for the purpose of training and deciphering the information to us, so that
they can be contacted and made a part of the training programc) Re-registration of the stakeholders who underwent a training program after six months, the stakeholders will approach them for
the purpose of re-training and re-certification From the MinisterATITHI DEVO BHAVAH
'Atithi Devo Bhavah' is a Social Awareness Campaign aimed at providing the inbound tourist a sense of being welcomed to the country. The campaign targets the general public as a whole, while focusing mainly on the stakeholders of the tourism industry. The main components of the campaign are training and orientation to taxi drivers, guides, immigration officers, tourist police and other personnel directly interacting with the tourists, while simultaneously creating a brand equity for the trained persons.
"Atithi Devo Bhavah" involves Sensitisation, Screening, Induction, Training & Orientation, Certification and Feedback of key stakeholders of the Tourism industry in India.
As Smt. Renuka Chowdhury, the Minister of State for Tourism (Independent charge) says 'Atithi Devo Bhavah' is a nationwide campaign aimed at sensitising people about India's rich cultural heritage, its preservation, cleanliness, hospitality and bringing out an attitudinal shift among the masses towards tourists. It is a symbolic representation of India's age old hospitality and with this campaign, we are trying to re-install in the stakeholders a sense of pride and responsibility towards tourists, while positioning India as a popular tourist destination worldwide."
The Ministry of Tourism is thus looking at both the macro and micro perspective by promoting destinations on the one hand and bringing about a sea change in the mindset and behaviour of people, on the other.
Day 02: Abroad - Delhi
Day 05: Jaisalmer
Day 10: Ajmer - Pushkar
Day 01: Arrive Delhi
Day 06: Jodhpur - Udaipur